On 17 July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul travelled to London to sign the long-awaited bilateral friendship treaty together with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The ‘Kensington Treaty’, named after the Victoria and Albert Museum in London’s Kensington district, includes agreements on topics such as security and defence, the economy, energy and climate protection, migration, science, digitalisation, state modernisation and exchanges between citizens. With regard to the mobility of young people, it was agreed, among other things, to reintroduce visa-free travel for school classes and thus facilitate school trips.
All documents can be viewed here:
Text of the agreement in German
Text of the agreement in English
List of the 17 lighthouse projects
Selection of projects supported by the German federal states
The lighthouse projects are to be implemented over the next 12-24 months, and new projects can then be decided on at the biennial government consultations at ministerial level under the leadership of the heads of government.
On 17 July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul travelled to London to sign the long-awaited bilateral friendship treaty together with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The ‘Kensington Treaty’, named after the Victoria and Albert Museum in London’s Kensington district, includes agreements on topics such as security and defence, the economy, energy and climate protection, migration, science, digitalisation, state modernisation and exchanges between citizens. With regard to the mobility of young people, it was agreed, among other things, to reintroduce visa-free travel for school classes and thus facilitate school trips.
All documents can be viewed here:
Text of the agreement in German
Text of the agreement in English
List of the 17 lighthouse projects
Selection of projects supported by the German federal states
The lighthouse projects are to be implemented over the next 12-24 months, and new projects can then be decided on at the biennial government consultations at ministerial level under the leadership of the heads of government.